epa11889200 Juventus’ Weston McKennie (L) celebrates with his teammates after scoring the 1-0 goal during the UEFA Champions League play-offs first leg soccer match between Juventus FC and PSV Eindhoven, in Turin, Italy, 11 February 2025. EPA-EFE/ALESSANDRO DI MARCO
Igor Tudor will likely pick Randal Kolo Muani in attack for Juventus’ opening Club World Cup game against Al Ain.
It kicks off at the Audi Field in Washington on Wednesday, 18, 21:00 LT (03:00 CEST on Thursday, 19 June).
The Bianconeri must cope without Mattia Perin, who has been left out of the World Cup squad after undergoing finger surgery.
Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal are formally part of the team, but are unlikely to be involved as they are finalising their recovery from knee injuries.
Several Italian sources, including Il Bianconero, report that Tudor will start Daniele Rugani in a three-man defence. The Italian has just returned from a one-season loan at Ajax.
Weston McKennie is likely to start in central midfield, as Manuel Locatelli has been training separately due to an ankle injury.
Nico Gonzalez is favourite over Timothy Weah for a starting spot in the right-wing-back position, while Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceiçao will support Kolo Muani, pushing Dusan Vlahovic to the bench.
Club World Cup: Where to watch Al Ain vs Juventus for free
All matches, including Al Ain vs. Juventus, can be streamed live on DAZN. If you are in Italy, you can also follow the match on Mediaset Play and Sportmediaset.it.
Club World Cup: Al Ain vs Juventus – probable line-ups
Al Ain (4-2-3-1): Rui Patricio; Jasic, Cardoso, Kouadio, Zabala; Park Yong-woo, Nader; Segovia, Kaku, Rahimi; Laba. All. Ivic.
Juventus (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Kelly, Rugani; Nico Gonzalez, McKennie, Thuram, Cambiaso; Yildiz, Conceiçao; Kolo Muani.
